Predicted Juventus lineup vs Bologna: Quest for 5th straight Coppa Italia title begins

LB: Leonardo Spinazzola

We’ve yet to see Leonardo Spinazzola make an appearance in the black and white stripes, but Saturday’s match against Bologna is as good a chance as there is for him to make his Juventus debut. Juve will want to save Alex Sandro for Wednesday’s Supercoppa Italiana and Joao Cancelo and Juan Cuadradro still aren’t ready to return from their knee surgeries. This leaves Spinazzola and Mattia De Sciglio as the only healthy full backs on the squad. The match could also serve as an audition for Spinazzola with rumors surfacing that he could be sent to Bologna on loan. If nothing else this start will give Juve an idea of what they have available when Alex Sandro misses matches.

RB: Mattia De Sciglio

Mattia De Sciglio has played very well in Joao Cancelo’s absence and he will be asked to step up one more time before Cancelo’s return. He has been a consistently steady presence on the defensive end of the field and while he hasn’t been the attacking virtuoso that Cancelo has shown to be throughout the season, he has had his moments. Against Bologna it’s very likely that Juve will face a team who is just trying to prevent Juventus from scoring and they will need both full backs to contribute to the attack to break through. We don’t know yet what Spinazzola will provide for Juve so it could come down to De Sciglio to unlock the Bolgona defense. This match will be De Sciglio’s best chance to show just how much he can contribute to Juve (or any potential suitors) in the future.